Questionaire: The Aftermath

''10 Questionnaires were handed out to a variety of people, I was able to work out from each of them that the answers were quite similar, with horror being the key favourite amongst the film goers. I was able to piece together a summary of the questionnaires into one single sheet.''

The general view was that among the 16-25 majority catagory questioned, of which 6 were male and 4 were female, the favourite film genre was overall a horror. The data collected revealed that this was a favourite because ''it is interesting and varied'', ''films are successful if they can genuinely scare you'' and ''plot twists can be interesting''.

Paticipants were also asked what they liked about other genres such as thrillers and romantic comedies, with answers such as ''twisted storylines'', ''mindgames'' and ''audience paticipation'' given for thriller, while ''funny'', ''makes you laugh'' and ''happily ever after'' was the general mindset of romantic comedies.

Also, the 10 questioned were asked to list their favourite horror films with classics such as ''Paranormal Activity,'', ''Saw', ''Halloween'' and ''Scream'' given for horror.

Question 9 asked participants what their ideal protagonist would portray in terms of gender, age and characteristics. The most interesting answer given was ''Someone you wouldn't expect to be the protagonist; give it a twist!!''.

Questionaire

''To help me find out what sort of genre's people prefer, and why, I have made a questionaire that will help me to answer these key questions. I have created a basic template of the questionaire that I will use.''

AS MEDIA – QUESTIONAIRE – Liam Owen

1)           Age & Gender

12-15                       16-25                       26-39                       40+

Male                        Female2)           Of these choices, which is your favourite film genre?

Thriller                    Horror                     Romantic Comedy3)           Why is this your favourite?

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4)           From the following genre’s, what do you expect to see in related films?

Thriller: .........................................................................................
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Horror: ..........................................................................................

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Romantic Comedy: ......................................................................

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5)           From the following genres, what is your favourite film?Thriller                                    .......................................................................
Horror                                     .......................................................................
Romantic Comedy                  .......................................................................

6)           What is your personal highlight from these films?Thriller                                    .......................................................................
Horror                                     .......................................................................
Romantic Comedy                  .......................................................................

7)           What do you think would be an appropriate age certificate for the following?Thriller                                    ..........
Horror                                     ..........
Romantic Comedy                  ..........8)           Considering the genre of a thriller, how do you prefer these films to end?
An Open Ending                     A Shocking Cliffhanger                          Closure                   A Dramatic Twist

9)           Horror Films have a range of protagonists, what would your ideal protagonist portray in terms of gender, age and characteristics?

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10)        Do you feel that Romantic Comedies have a typical storyline? If so, how could they be different?

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The Metz Theory

Christian Metz was a French film theorist who explored genre development over his 40 year career. He pioneered the Metz Theory where he suggested that each film passes through four individual stages.

• The experimental
• The classic
• The parody
• The deconstruction

These four stages can be recognised clearly in the horror and romantic comedy genres.

THE EXPERIMENTAL STAGE

The first films made in a genre, these films are experimental as they explosre narratives and themes never done before. This is essentially the foundations of basic conventions found in later stages.

Horror

• Nosferatu
• The Cabinet of Dr Caligari

Romantic Comedy

• Girl Shy
• Trouble In Paradise

THE CLASSIC STAGE

The genre now has well established general conventions. This is also usually the stage in which the genre is at its most successful.

Horror 

• Frankenstein
• Dracula

Romantic Comedy

• Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
• Breakfast At Tiffany's

THE PARODY STAGE

The parody stage is where the forms and conventions of the genre are mocked in a rather satirical sort of way.

Horror 

• Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein
• Scary Movie

Romantic Comedy

• Date Movie
• Another Gay Movie

THE DECONSTRUCTION STAGE


Films now begin to take different parts which are normally the generic elements and amalgamate them into dividing sub genres.

Horror 

• Se7en
• The Blair Witch Project

Romantic Comedy

• Groundhog Day
• Love Actually

Preliminary Task: 180 Degree Rule

When making a film, one of the basic guidelines that should be followed is the 180 degree rule. The rule is used as it states that two characters (or other elements) in a shared scene always have the same right/left relationship to each other. Essentially, the guideline creates an imaginary axis which generally the camera should not cross, as for the viewer, the right/left relationship would become confusing and distorting as if the line were to be crossed, then it would appear as if the characters have swithced sides.

Some filmmakers have however broken the 180 degree rule. George Lucas did it in one of the final battle scenes in Star Wars Episode II The Attack Of The Clones, while Peter Jackson deliberately broke the guidelines for The Tow Towers in which a character has a conversation with himself. This effect was used in The Lord Of The Rings as it gave the viewer the impression that the character of Gollum was having a seperate conversation with the character of Smeagol, when in actual fact it is shortly after revealed that they are one and the same.

Our film will not break the 180 degree rule as we have no intention of confusing viewers in the introduction, instead, our production will firmly maintain use of the 180 degree rule at all times.

To practice the 180 degree rule, and use of the cameras that we will later use to film our production, we made a preliminary task in which a person enters a room, speaks to another and passes a prop using match on action. The several shots piece together to make a flowing sequence that does not break the 180 degree rule and is therefore straightforward for the watching viewer.

The task enhanced my knowledge of the rule and also showed me how a camera person can move the camera without crossing the 180 degree rule line.

 

Research: UK Film Council & Genres

UK cinema admissions for the first six months of 2010 were 80.1m, down 4% on the first half of 2009 (Table 1). This represents the second highest first half admissions of the last five years.

Average weekly admissions were 3.3 million in March, up from 2.7 million in March 2009. By contrast, average weekly admissions in June fell to 2 million.


Table 1: Monthly admissions, January – June 2009-2010
Month           2009 (million)     2010 (million)         % +/- on 2009
January           14.5                 14.6                      +0.5
February          15.0                 14.9                      - 0.5
March              11.9                 14.5                      +21.7
April               13.8                  14.7                      +6.0
May                15.8                  12.8                      - 18.8
June               12.5                  8.7                        -30.1
Total              83.5                  80.1                      - 4.0
Source: CAA, Rentrak EDI
Figures may not add to totals due to rounding


Box office results for the top 20 films released in the UK, January-June 2010
Rank, Title, Country of Origin, Gross box office (£m), Opening cinemas,  Opening weekend (£m), Distributor

1 Alice in Wonderland USA, 42.54, 533, 10.56,  Disney
2 Sex and the City 2* USA, 21.61, 530, 6.14, Warner Bros
3 Iron Man 2* USA, 21.17, 521, 7.66, Paramount
4 Clash of the Titans UK/USA 20.20, 446, 5.68, Warner Bros
5 How to Train your Dragon* USA, 17.17, 471, 4.85, Paramount
6 Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang* UK/USA, 16.43, 512, 2.59, Universal
7 Robin Hood* UK/USA, 15.43, 537, 5.75, Universal
8 Streetdance 3D* UK, 11.60, 412, 2.49, Vertigo
9 Kick-Ass UK/USA, 11.60, 402, 3.88, Universal
10 The Princess and the Frog USA, 11.14, 1, 0.02, Disney
11 Shutter Island USA, 10.75, 416, 2.25, Paramount
12 Valentine's Day USA, 10.21, 432, 3.73, Warner Bros
13 It's Complicated USA, 9.31, 434, 1.10, Universal
14 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time* UK/USA, 8.84, 468, 1.37, Disney
15 Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief USA, 7.45, 454, 1.50, 20th Century Fox
16 Get him to the Greek* USA, 6.81, 389, 1.57, Universal
17 Up in the Air USA, 6.51, 325, 1.30, Paramount
18 The Lovely Bones USA, 6.37, 420, 1.64, Paramount
19 The Blind Side USA, 6.22, 371, 1.31, Warner Bros
20 Bounty Hunter USA 6.20, 394, 2.06, Sony Pictures
Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis
Gross box office gross = cumulative total up to 25 July 2010
Films with an asterisk (*) were still being exhibited on 25 July 2010

The UK Film Council figures from 2007

Codes & Conventions of Genres With Examples

Thrillers

Quick Cuts (Se7en)
Mystery (Se7en, Inception)
Suspense (Inception)
Exotic Setting (Inception)
Intensity (Se7en, Inception)
Protagonist usually dies (Se7en, Inception???)
High paced music (Se7en (Howard Shore))
Conspiracy (Inception)
High Tech (Se7en (In 1995), Inception)
Apprehension and exhilaration (Se7en, Inception)
Special Effects (Se7en, Inception)

Horror

Serial Killer (Halloween, Saw)
Blood/Gore (Halloween, Saw)
Torture (Saw I,II,III,IV,V,VI,VII)
Monsters (28 Days Later)
Gothic (Dracula, Underworld)
Increased Body Count As Films Progress (Saw I,II,III,IV,V,VI,VII)
Screams (Halloween, Dracula)
Darkness (Halloween, Nightmare On Elm Street)
Eerie Music (Halloween, Saw, Dracula, Nightmare On Elm Street)
Young cast (Halloween, Nightmare On Elm Street, Friday 13th)

Rom-Com
Love (Love Actually, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones Diary, My Best Friends Wedding)
Jokes (Love Actually, Notting Hill)
Adultery (Love Actually, My Best Friends Wedding)
Singing (The Wedding Singer, Love Actually)
Sex (Love Actually, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones Diary, My Best Friends Wedding)
Marriage (Love Actually, My Best Friends Wedding)
Good looking cast (Love Actually, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones Diary, My Best Friends Wedding)
Happy Ending (Love Actually, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones Diary, My Best Friends Wedding)
Laughter/Crying(Love Actually, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones Diary, My Best Friends Wedding)
Upbeat music(Love Actually, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones Diary, My Best Friends Wedding)
Slapstick humour (Love Actually, Notting Hill)

Romantic Comedy - Mood Board

An image has the power to say a lot of things...

Looking at a bouquet of roses, an individual instinctively thinks of love and romance.

An image of a Sunset in Sydney could make the viewer think of a romantic getaway down under, filled with passionate weekends in Sydney followed by adventure in the outback, especially from an English perspective.

While an image of the most romantic city in the world could encourage the viewer to think of a more inspired and deeper romance. A view of the Louvre at dusk brings to the mind thoughts of a more intellectually involved couple.

Keira Knightley, made famous in the RomCom circles for her role in Love Actually, has now become the face of a female in a British RomCom.

Colin Firth. Now the King of British RomCom has claimed the title from the former male lead, Hugh Grant.

Thriller - Mood Board

There's someone behind you!!!

Hannibal Lecter, the face of Evil!

Anthony Hopkins role in the thriller genre did not end with Hannibal The Cannibal...

The chilling Meryl Streep in the political thriller, The Manchurian Candidate

The Detectives office, commonly seen in the thriller genre

''Where is everybody?'' - The chilling opening scenes of 28 Days Later

The devestating image of Lady Liberty after the monsters attack in Cloverfield

Horror - Mood Board

The Ever Evolving Faces Of Horror

Dracula as seen in The Horror Of Dracula (1958), Bram Stokers Dracula (1992) and Buffy The Vampire Slayer (2001). It can clearly be seen that as time as evolved, so have the interpretations of the Prince Of Darkness, ranging from appearing middle aged, ancient and young. Also, another variation is Dracula's origin, as the 1958 film shows Dracula with an English accent, the 1992 film a Romanian accent, and the TV show, an Eastern European accent.

As time has progressed, interpretation of Frankenstein has changed. Original films show him as more of a monster than as a human, wheras more modern versions have given him a more human feel, so that the audience can feel sympathy and empthy towards the monster, instead of seeing him as something that is beyond human.

The deconstruction of horror in more modern films such as The Blair Witch Project. Never had there been a film like it before, it has become a cult classic, with people still to this day believing that the film itself was real.

Analysis Of: Se7en

Seven (stylized as Se7en) is a 1995 American thriller film, which also contains horror and neo-noir elements, directed by David Fincher and written by Andrew Kevin Walker. It stars Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, R. Lee Ermey and Kevin Spacey. Shot in the United States, the film has a run time of 128 minutes with the only spoken language being English. The budget was $30 million yet the gross revenue was a generous $327,311,859

As the opening logos of New Line Cinema fade out, the camera fades from black into a shot of a man in a kitchen. There is little colour as the kitchen is mostly white, with the man also dressed in white. In contrast, the man is revealed to be African American.

There is no non diegetic sound, and the only diegetic sound heard is that of the man moving around his apartment and getting ready. Also heard (from outside the apartment) is the hustle of street life and Police sirens.

Shots seen range from medium-long shots, to a close up of the man in a mirror, to a shot of the man standing over his bed flicking dust off of his jacket.

A new scene is then shown, with a medium shot of a man dead on the floor. It can be immediately suspected that the corpse is a man as he appears to be wearing his underwear. Blood is also shown next to the corpse to further signify his death.

Diegetic sound of two characters talking can be heard, and the same streetlife sound can still be heard as in the previous scene.

The same man from the apartment is shown walking into the room beginning with a long shot that zooms out as he walks closer to the camera, he is now fully dressed in the suit he was preparing earlier.

Another man, is seen walking away from the man now identified as Somerset as another man walks up the stairs, dressed differently to Somerset in a leather jacket, looking untidy and scruffy.

A new scene shows Somerset and the scruffy police man outside the dead mans apartment, it is raining.

This sequence then cuts to Somerset in bed, late at night, showing a considerable amount of time has passed. A closeup is shown of Somerset's clock ticking as we also watch Somerset drift to sleep.

Thunder is then heard as the camera fades to black, Somerset is asleep.

The opening titles now kick in, interlaced with gruseome closeup shots of blood, writing, and fingerprint sawing. The shots are quick, gruesome and are accompanied by fast paced sinister music that increases in tempo as the shots increase in speed.